Floor polisher brush attaching and drive means



Sept. 17, 1968 B. F. ZIEGLER FLOOR POLISHER BRUSH ATTACHING AND DRIVE MEANS Filed Nov. 15, 1966 Fig. 9 as as United States Patent 3,401,416 FLOOR POLISHER BRUSH ATTACHING AND DRIVE MEANS Brandt F. Ziegler, North Canton, Ohio, assignor to The Hoover Company, North Canton, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Filed Nov. 15, 1966, Ser. No. 594,623 Claims. (Cl. -49) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A floor polisher having motor driven vertical axis brush mounting shafts includes brush attaching and clutching means on the shaft ends. The brush attaching and clutching means includes a bottom portion having resilient fingers which snap through a hole in the brush back and an upper portion having downwardly facing teeth' which cooperate with teeth on the rear of the brush to drive the brush. The bottom and upper portions of the brush attaching and clutching means may be rotatably and axially movable relative to one another so the brush is not driven when the polisher is lifted. The brush has driving teeth on its "back portion arranged to provide a low silhouette with strength and stability.

The present invention relates to a floor polisher brush attaching and drive means. Prior floor polishers and scrubbers have conventionally been provided with quick attachable-detachable means for holding the brushes on the polisher shafts. Such attachments also require that the brush be fixed in driving relation on the shaft so that the brush will be driven by rotation of the shaft.

The present invention relates to an improved brush attaching and drive means which is more economical in manufacture and more simple to utilize by an operator. In accordance with the present invention a combined brush attaching and drive means is provided with a bottom portion having resilient fingers which snap through a hole in the brush back for a quick release connection and with an upper portion having downwardly facing teeth cooperating with teeth on the rear face of the brush to drive the brush. In a modified embodiment the lower portion is rotatable and axially movable relative to the upper portion so that the brush is not driven when the polisher is lifted from a surface. This prevents the throwing of liquid radially outward from the brush when the polisher is lifted and also provides a safety feature in that the brushes cannot tangle in anything if the polisher is lifted while running. The present invention :also includes a polisher brush having teeth on its rear face and having no extra attachments required in conventional brushes to eflfect quick release and driving connection.

Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide a combined polisher brush attaching and driving means which is very economical to manufacture .and simple to operate.

It is another object of this invention to provide a polisher brush attaching and driving means having a quick release bottom portion and an upper portion having downwardly facing teeth which cooperate with upwardly extending teeth on the polisher brush.

It is :a further object of this invention to provide a polisher brush attaching and driving means having a lower brush attaching portion which is rotatable and axially movable relative to an upper brush driving portion.

It is an additional object ofthis invention to provide a simplified polisher brush having improved connection and driving means integrally formed thereon and including protrusions adapted to be grasped in an operators fingers for easy removal of the brush from an attaching means.

Patented Sept. 17, 1968 Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art as the descrip tion proceeds when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a side view of a floor polishing and scrubbing machine having the brush attaching anddriving means of the present invention embodied therein.

FIGURE 2 is an isometric view of the brush attaching and driving means of the present invention.

FIGURE 3 is a side view of the brush attaching and driving means of the present invention.

FIGURE 4 is a side view in partial section showing a brush attached to the brush attaching and driving means of the present invention.

FIGURE 5 is a side view showing a pad fastener for use with the brush attaching and driving means of the present invention.

FIGURE 6 is a top view of the brush of FIGURE 4.

FIGURE 7 is a side view in partial section showing a modified form of brush attaching and driving means.

FIGURE 8 is a bottom view of the brush attaching and driving means of FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 9 is a partial enlarged sectional view showing the relation of the attaching means to a shoulder on the brush for receiving a pad fastener.

FIGURE 1 shows a conventional floor polishing and scrubbing machine having a body portion 1 enclosing an electric motor drivingly connected through reduction gearing to brush shaft means for rotating brush 2. A handle 3 is connected to body portion 1 for manipulating the polisher.

FIGURE 2 shows the brush attaching and driving means of the present invention and is generally indicated by numeral 4. Member 4 has a circular upper portion 5 and a cylindrical bottom portion 6 projecting downwardly from upper portion 5 and formed integrally therewith to define a shank. A centrally located boss 7 on member 4 is bored and preferably screw threaded for receiving a threaded end of a floor polisher shaft. Member 4 is preferably molded of synthetic plastic material such as rigid polyvinyl acetate or any other suitable plastic material as well known to those skilled in the art. Bottom portion 6 has its wall longitudinally slit at four places as shown to form a pair of oppositely disposed bendable fingers 8 and 9 having outwardly extending projections 10 and 11, and inwardly and downwardly extending catch portions 12 and 13. Fingers 8 and 9 are deformable inwardly toward the axis of cylindrical portion 6 by bending.

Upper portion 5 has a substantially fiat surface extending outwardly from cylindrical bottom portion 6 to the periphery of upper portion 5. This flat surface defines a clutching surface having a pair of recesses formed therein on opposite sides of bottom portion 6 as shown in FIGURES 2 and 8. Each recess has a substantially vertical wall 14 and 15 extending radially of the longitudinal axis of bottom portion 6 and extending from bottom portion 6 to the periphery of upper portion 5. Each recess has an opposite wall 16 and 17 extending radially of the longitudinal axis of bottom portion 6 and extending from bottom portion 6 to the periphery of upper portion 5. Each recess has a bottom surface 18 and 19 bounded by walls 14 and 16, and by bottom portion 6 and the peripheral edge of upper portion 5. Opposite walls 16 and 17 slope upwardly and outwardly from bottom surfaces 18 and 19. Brush attaching and driving member 4 is secured to rotatable shaft 20 on a floor polisher and scrubber as by screw threads. Walls 14 and 15 of the recesses in member 4 constitute driving faces of downwardly projecting teeth.

FIGURES 4 and 6 show a polisher brush 21 including a circular rigid back portion having front face 22 and 3 rear face 23. Front face 22 has bristles 24 secured thereto and projecting downwardly therefrom. Brush 21 has a centrally located circular hole 25 formed therein and a circular recess 26 formed in rear face 23 around hole 25. A pair of teeth 27 and 28 project upwardly from the bottom surface of recess 26 on opposite sides of hole 25. Teeth 27 and 28 have substantially vertical Walls 29 and 30 defining driving faces adapted to mate with walls 14 and 15 on member 4. The top surfaces of teeth 27 and 28 are flat and have the same surface area and shape as surfaces 18 and 19 at the bottom of the recesses in member 4. Teeth 27 and 28 have opposite substantially vertical walls 31 and 32. Both of the sidewalls on each of teeth 27 and 28 are vertical for use in a two brush polisher wherein the brushes rotate in opposite directions so that either of the walls can form a driving face. Teeth 27 and 28 project upwardly substantially the same extent as the depth of the recesses in member 4 and the thickness of upper portion of member 4 is substantially the same as the depth of recess 26 so that the top surface of upper portion 5 is substantially flush with rear face 23 when teeth 27 and 28 are received in the recesses in upper portion 5.

Brush 21 has projection means 33 extending downwardly from front face 22 around hole 25 and the bottom edge thereof has a pair of oppositely disposed protrusions 34 and 35 extending outwardly therefrom. Slots 36 and 37 through recess 26 in brush 21 are for pulling a core in the mold to form protrusions 34 and 35. The inner periphery of projection means 33 is formed with a shoulder 38 beneath which projections and 11 on fingers 8 and 9 lock. To install brush 21 on member 4 the brush is pushed axially against bottom portion 6 with hole aligned with portion 6. Fingers 8 and 9 bend inwardly allowing bottom portion 6 to be received in hole 25.

Brush 21 may then be rotated by hand until teeth 27 and 28 are received in the recesses in upper portion 5. Projections 10 and 11 then extend below shoulder 38 and are free to spring outwardly so that the edge of shoulder 38 is locked against the top edges of projections 10 and 11. The position of the bottom edges of the fingers is shown in FIGURE 9. To remove the brush protrusions 34 and are grasped in an operators fingers to appl an axial pull in brush 21. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that shoulder 38 could be the bottom terminal edge of projection means 33 and need not be formed above the bottom edge as shown.

FIGURE 5 shows a pad fastener 39 including a cylindrical body portion 40 having a circular flange 41 projecting outwardly from the bottom edge thereof and a circumferential groove 42 in its top portion below the top edge thereof. Body portion 40 is receivable in a central hole formed in a polishing pad 43 with flange 41 hearing against the front surface of pad 43. The top portion of pad fastener 39 is receivable inside bottom portion 6 of member 4 and catch means 12 and 13 snap into groove 42 as shown in FIGURE 4. FIGURE 9 shows the position of catch 12 before pad fastener 39 is in position. Catch 12 is spaced inwardly of the interior surface of protrusion 34 so that catch 12 can bend outwardly to receive pad fastener 39.

FIGURE 7 shows a modified form of the brush attaching and drive means of FIGURE 2. Upper portion 5 and bottom portion 6 of the embodiment of FIGURE 7 is the same in all respects as their corresponding portions in FIGURE 2 except that they are not integral with one another. Upper portion 5 in FIGURE 7 includes a downwardly extending cylindrical shank 44 having outwardly extending flange means 45 on the bottom edge thereof. Bottom portion 6 in FIGURE 7 is a separate member and has an inwardly extending flange 46 on the top edge thereof. The outer diameter of flange 45 is greater than the inner diameter of flange 46 so that bottom portion 6 is retained on upper portion 5. Flange 46 is rotatable and axially slidable on shank 44. Bottom portion 6 is formed with a plurality of slots as at 47 to permit outward bending of portions of bottom portion 6 in order to assemble flange 46 over and above flange 45. In the embodiment of FIGURE 7 the teeth on the brush back are engaged in the recesses in upper portion 5 only when bottom portion 6 is substantially all the way up on shank 44 and the teeth are disengaged when bottom portion 6 is substantially all the way down on shank 44 with flange 46 resting on flange 45. Thus, there is a driving connection betwen upper portion 5 and the brush only when the brush is on a surface to be treated to force bottom portion 6 up on shank 44 to engage the teeth. When the polishing and scrubbing device is lifted so that the brush is not pressing against a surface the weight of the brush pulls bottom portion 6 to its lower position and releases the driving connection. This is a safety feature for any polisher-scrubber as there is no danger of the brushes tangling in anything if the polisher is lifted while it is running. The embodiment of FIGURE 7 is also advantageous for use with a conversion system for automatically raising and lowering brushes on a polisherscrubber as disclosed in copending application Ser. No. 594,624 of Robert F. Dyer entitled, Automatic Conversion System for a Scrubbing and Liquid Pickup Appliance, filed Nov. 15, 1966.

The present invention provides a polisher brush attaching and driving means which is very simple in construction and easy to operate. The modified embodiment provides advantageous declutching in a very simple man- H61. While only two embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described it is to be understood that they are only illustrative and are not to be taken in a limiting sense. The present invention includes all equivalent variations of the embodiments disclosed and described, and is limited only by the scope of the claims.

I claim:

1. In a floor cleaning device including a body portion having motor means thereon and rotatable brush mounting and driving shaft means drivingly connected with said motor,

(a) combined brush attaching and driving means mounted on said shaft,

(b) said brush attaching and driving means having an upper portion and a bottom portion,

(c) said bottom portion extending axially of said shaft and having a plurality of resilient fingers thereon extending parallel to said shaft, said fingers being deformable radially inward toward said shaft and having outwardly extending projections at their bottom end portions,

(d) said upper portion defining clutch means having downwardly facing driving tooth means projecting therefrom,

(e) brush means having a rigid back portion including a front face and a rear face,

(f) a hole through said back portion, said hole having an outwardly extending shoulder portion,

(g) said bottom portion of said brush attaching and driving means being received in said hole with said outwardly extending projections on said fingers extending outwardly beneath said shoulder portion, and

(h) said rear face of said back portion of said brush means having upwardly extending tooth meansadjacent said hole,

(i) said upwardly extending tooth means on said rear face being cooperable with said downwardly extending tooth means on said upper portion of said brush attaching and driving means to drive said brush when said shaft is rotated by said motor means. 2. The device of claim 1 wherein said bottom portion of said brush attaching and driving means is axially movg-ageable when said brush means is connected with said bottom portion.

3. The device of claim 2 wherein said upper portion includes a cylindrical shank portion projecting downwardly axially of said shaft inwardly of said downwardly extending tooth means, said shank portion terminating in a bottom edge, and said bottom portion comprises a cylindrical member having a top edge, first flange means projecting outwardly from said bottom edge in downwardly spaced relation to said downwardly extending tooth means, second flange means projecting inwardly from said top edge, said first flange means terminating in an outer edge, said second flange means terminating in an inner edge, the diameter across said outer edge being greater than the diameter across said inner edge, said second flange means being rotatably and slidably received around said shank portion above said first flange means.

4. The device of claim 1 wherein said resilient fingers 'have inwardly and downwardly extending catch means thereon, said catch means being deformable outwardly when said projections are received beneath said shoulder portion.

5. The device of claim 4 and further including a pad fastener member having an upper edge, peripheral groove means in said pad fastener below said upper edge, said catch means being received in said groove means, and said pad fastener including a bottom edge having outwardly extending pad retaining means thereon.

6. The device of claim 1 wherein said upper portion is circular and has a substantially flat downwardly facing surface, said bottom portion comprising a substantially cylindrical shank formed integrally with said upper portion and projecting downwardly from said downwardly facing surface inwardly of the outer edge of said upper portion, said clutch means including a clutching surface defined by said downwardly facing surface between said shank and the outer periphery of said upper portion, said clutching surface having a pair of oppositely disposed recesses formed therein on opposite sides of said shank, said recesses each having at least one substantially vertical wall extending from said shank to the peripheral edge of said upper portion, each of said recess having an opposite wall portion extending from said shank to the peripheral edge of said upper portion, each of said recesses having a bottom surface defining an area bounded 'by said substantially vertical wall, opposite wall, shank portion and peripheral edge, said downwardly extending tooth means being defined by said substantially vertical wall portions of said recesses, said upwardly extending tooth means on said brush means comprising a pair of oppositely disposed teeth on opposite sides of said hole, said upwardly extending tooth means being cor-respondingly shaped to fit in said recesses.

7. The device of claim 6 wherein said rear face of said brush has a circular recess formed therein around 'said hole, said upwardly extending tooth means extending upwardly from the bottom surface of said circular recess, said front face of said brush having a cylindrical hub projecting downwardly therefrom adjacent the periphery of said hole, said hub including a bottom edge having a pair of protrusions extending outwardly therefrom on opposite sides thereof, said protrusions being adapted to be grasped by a persons fingers to remove said brush from said brush attaching and driving means.

8. A brush for a floor polisher or the like comprising;

(a) a circular rigid back portion having a front face and a rear face,

(b) bristles projecting downwardly from said front face,

(c) a centrally located circular hole through said back portion,

'(d) a circular recess in said rear face around said hole,

(e) a pair of teeth extending upwardly from the bottom surface of said recess on opposite sides of said hole, and

(f) said teeth having at least one substantially vertical wall extending radially outward from the axis of said hole, said teeth having substantially fiat upper surfaces.

9. The brush of claim 8 wherein said front face has extension means projecting downwardly therefrom adjacent the periphery of said hole, said extension means including bottom edge means having a pair of outwardly extending protrusions thereon disposed on opposite sides of said hole, said protrusion means being adapted to be grasped by a persons fingers to remove said brush from a shaft.

10. The brush of claim 8 wherein said teeth have a height between limits of slightly less than the depth of said recess to not substantially greater than the depth of said recess.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,019,465 2/1962 Bayless 15180 3,101,505 8/1963 Belicka et al. 15320 3,216,035 11/1965 Gaudry 15-49 3,216,047 11/1965 Ernolf 15-49 X EDWARD L. ROBERTS, Primary Examiner. 

